Water, Oil and Plenty of Controversy

Well, Vogue Italia certainly has put the rest of the September cover stories to shame, at least as far as publicity goes. The cover story, 'Water & Oil', was shot by Steven Meisel and features Kristin McNemany draped along a coastline, gorgeous hair, jewelry and makeup all drenched in oil. The shoot is clearly Meisel's way of addressing the three month old atrocity that struck the Gulf Coast. The shoot is heart-wrenching and twisted and quite frankly, i love it. I am most inspired by art that imitates life, even the dark aspects like the Gulf. People are wondering if this shoot went too far, but i don't know if that is what should be up for debate. At its best, fashion is thought-provoking, emotional and dramatic- and no one can argue against this shoot being all three. Regardless of where one stands on this one, i think we all can agree that oil, water and a dash of controversy make for a hell of an editorial. I guess the only question that really remains for me is, would an american magazine have featured this?

all photos from Scallywag & Vagabond